“The editors have improved the book's usefulness by adding their commentaries,
which highlight the elements of the individual papers to contribute better
understanding of, and relevance to, the issues addressed.”

--Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development

“The reader gains an understanding of prelinguistic communication development
across many domains. It will be useful for professionals working with children
who use gestures for communication.”

-- ASHA

“No introductory course in child and language development will be complete
without this book.”

From the Foreword by William C. Stokoe

In 21 essays on communicative gesturing in the first two years of life, this
vital collection demonstrates the importance of gesture in a child’s transition
to a linguistic system. Introductions preceding each section emphasize the parallels
between the findings in these studies and the general body of scholarship devoted to
the process of spoken language acquisition.